Gastrointestinal Tract News and Research

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Researchers uncover evidence linking mental health disorders and disturbances to gut microbiome

Better understanding the gastrointestinal microbiome may help psychiatrists treat mental health disorders such as depression, highlights a review in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

23 Aug 2017

Symptoms, triggers of food intolerance found to be similar in animals and humans

People are not the only ones suffering from the symptoms and problems of food intolerance and allergies.

23 Aug 2017

Johns Hopkins researchers pinpoint how tiny protein could make deadly Ebola virus contagious

Two Johns Hopkins materials science graduate students and their professors played a key role in a multi-institution research project that pinpointed how a tiny protein seems to make the deadly Ebola virus particularly contagious.

22 Aug 2017

Nanobioelectronics to treat bacterial infection in the stomach

Nanotechnology has made another breakthrough at the University of California San Diego. For the first time the researchers have shown that micromotors or microscopic robots could be used to treat a bacterial infection in the stomach in mice models win the laboratory.

16 Aug 2017

Studies show how endoscopic procedures can improve outcomes and care

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, features a study reporting that a simpler procedure for collecting biopsy specimens during various procedures can improve patient care, and a study showing how a relatively new procedure, POEM, has been adapted to help an additional set of patients with gastroparesis, a troubling stomach problem.

3 Aug 2017

Protein-rich diet may foster more tolerant, less inflammatory gut environment

Immune cells patrol the gut to ensure that harmful microbes hidden in the food we eat don't sneak into the body. Cells that are capable of triggering inflammation are balanced by cells that promote tolerance, protecting the body without damaging sensitive tissues.

3 Aug 2017

Scientists uncover link between backup pathogen-fighting system and mutations in Crohn's patients

Genes that regulate a cellular recycling system called autophagy are commonly mutated in Crohn's disease patients, though the link between biological housekeeping and inflammatory bowel disease remained a mystery. Now, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered an intriguing clue.

28 Jul 2017

Synthetic molecule can disrupt hunger-signaling pathway, research suggests

New research suggests that a man-made cousin of a small molecule found in olive oil can disrupt the hunger-signaling pathway.

27 Jul 2017

UA researchers seek to better understand NHE8 protein’s role in GI disorders, colon cancer

About 1.6 million Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which encompasses several painful and complex disorders that include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

27 Jul 2017

Genetic test to predict IBD severity in children

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic relapsing inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract with abdominal pain and diarrhea being the most common symptoms. It can be challenging to diagnose as gastrointestinal complaints mimicking IBD are common.

26 Jul 2017

Large-scale genetic study of E. coli illustrates complexity of drug resistant 'superbugs'

The first large-scale genetic study of Escherichia coli (E. coli) cultured from patients with bloodstream infections in England showed that drug resistant 'superbugs' are not always out-competing other strains.

18 Jul 2017

Bacterium S. gallolyticus appears to actively promote development of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is fairly treatable when caught early with regular screenings, but it is still the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in American men and the third-leading cause in women.

17 Jul 2017

Longtime use of heartburn drugs linked to increased risk of death

Popular heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have been linked to a variety of health problems, including serious kidney damage, bone fractures and dementia.

4 Jul 2017

Study reveals radiation therapy advantage for patients with right-sided colorectal tumors

For patients with colorectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver, having a primary tumor on the left side, as opposed to the right side of the colon, is known to be a significant advantage in terms of treatment response.

3 Jul 2017

New cranberry derivative could help patients dependent on tube feeding

Synesis, a University of Wisconsin-Madison spinoff developing a patented formula for liquid nutrition, is advancing a plant-based additive designed to reduce or eliminate severe side effects of tube feeding.

28 Jun 2017

Study finds link between upper GI infections and protein implicated in Parkinson’s disease

Acute and chronic infections in a person's upper gastrointestinal tract appear to be linked to Parkinson's disease, say scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center and their collaborators at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

28 Jun 2017

Human colon organoids fill gap in effectively modeling common GI diseases

Scientists used human pluripotent stem cells to generate human embryonic colons in a laboratory that function much like natural human tissues when transplanted into mice, according to research published June 22 in Cell Stem Cell.

22 Jun 2017

Infections during infancy linked to greater risk for celiac disease

Infections during infancy are associated with increased risk for gluten intolerance (celiac disease) later on. Apparently the risk is particularly high in the case of repeated gastrointestinal infections in the first year of life.

20 Jun 2017

UAB researchers demonstrate persistence of donor microbes in recipients after fecal transplant

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have made the first direct demonstration that fecal donor microbes remained in recipients for months or years after a transplant to treat the diarrhea and colitis caused by recurrent Clostridium difficile infections -- a serious and stubborn cause of diarrhea after an antibiotic treatment for some other illness.

14 Jun 2017

New discovery could help explain unparalleled spread of Ebola virus

The world may be closer to knowing why Ebola spreads so easily thanks to a team of researchers from Tulane University and other leading institutions who discovered a new biological activity in a small protein from the deadly virus.

7 Jun 2017